Anti myelosuppressant and hematopoietic activities of ethanolic fraction obtained from seeds of Carica papaya L.

Bone marrow suppression is one of the serious consequences of treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin (DOX). It is very difficult to treat bone marrow suppression caused by anti-cancer drugs. This study was aimed to evaluate hematological effects particularly the antimyelosuppressant effects of ethanolic extract of papaya seeds at 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg daily dose for three weeks in doxorubicin induced hematopoietic suppression in rat model. Hematological parameters were assessed on weekly basis on days 0, 1, 7, 14 and 21. The alcoholic extract was found to cause remission of induced myelosuppression as indicated by a dose dependent increase in WBCs, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, RBCs, Hb, hematocrit & mean corpuscular volume. However, the maximum dose (600mg/kg) of the extract showed maximum activity (p<0.05) in normalizing hematological parameters when compared with group B (induced group) and group A (controlled animals). These effects were compareable with those produced by Filgrastim 5µgm/kg used as standard or reference drug during these experiments. It is concluded from the results that papaya seeds possess myelostimulant activity and can be used to treat myelosuppression caused by chemotherapy. The drug can also be used for curing anemia, thrombocytopenia and immunological disorders characterized by myelosuppression.